What Dream Are You Anxious to Begin?

We may be asking now, “What am I to do with the rest of my life?” Now is the perfect time to pick ourselves up and start doing what we were always meant to do. Not the everyday housework or home improvement projects, but the dream that never became real. The one passion that excites us just thinking about it. The plans that were interrupted by our own fear or others’ dreams.

Buried Treasure

If we think we can’t even remember the dream, that’s not really true. It’s there, but just so far back in the corner of our mind we can’t seem to find it right now. It’s like an old attic or garage that no one has visited in a very long time. The dust has thickly settled and the cobwebs are obscuring the view.

The “treasure box of ideas” we once doodled and sketched over and over is simply hidden under piles of old reasons, doubts, and fears. Maybe valid explanations at the time we closed the lid on our dreams, but no more. We are now responsible for our own future again.

Life in Reverse (an abbreviated exercise)

There are many ways to uncover and “dust off” the ideas and plans we once dreamed about everyday. But one very effective way has been used by doctors and career coaches everywhere. This is not an exact science, so feel free to make small adjustments to the basic layout.

Prep: if you like writing things out, use any type notebook. If you are a visual person, use a poster board and a marker to draw this out.

Steps:

• List all the years of your life in reverse leaving space underneath each one.
• Go in reverse all the way back to elementary school. If it is easier, it’s o.k. to group them in three or five-year segments. For example, 2017-2012; 2011-2007; etc.
• Underneath each one, briefly record any and all activities, hobbies, interests, job descriptions, and achievements that you absolutely enjoyed doing or were passionate about for each specific group of years. Very Important: if an activity appears in several years, repeat that description.
• Do not rush! Keep thinking. Go back and add more as they come to mind no matter how silly. This could take a few days.
• When completely done listing, go back with a red pen/marker and circle any words that are the same or similar over ALL the years.
• Last, take all the circled words and write them into a separate list, in the order of most favorite on the top and your least favorite on the bottom.
• Done! You now have your top three most favorite activities all the way back to childhood. This is a very strong indication of what you should be pursuing. These are your natural gifts and abilities. Your dreams!

There are many books on the subject of careers and special gifts on the market that will expand on this same type of research. Keep at it and find what you were meant to do with your life!

First Things First

God has plans for us and they, most assuredly, coincide with our dreams. If we are in contact with Him on a daily basis through prayer, and keep our ears, minds, and hearts open to His direction, He will show us where to go and what to do. We don’t have to guess. He will make our paths straight after they have been crooked for, perhaps, years.

The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Psalm 37:23